Saudi wealth fund seeks up to US$7b loan for investments

[RIYADH] Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund plans to raise as much as US$7 billion in loans as it seeks cash for new investments, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Public Investment Fund has approached international banks to participate in the multi-currency revolving facility of between US$5 billion and US$7 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The PIF aims to complete the fundraising early next year and use the cash for opportunistic investments, they said.

The final size of the loan will depend on the response from banks, the people said. The fund didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The deal would be the third time PIF has tapped international banks for funding. Its debut loan raised US$11 billion in 2018, while it repaid a US$10 billion bridge loan in August, two months ahead of schedule.

The fund, under the leadership of Yasir Al-Rumayyan, has shifted its focus from being mostly a domestic holding company to an international investment vehicle. The PIF's funding strategy includes cash or asset transfers from the government, borrowing, and retained earnings from its investments.

It invested about US$8 billion in US equities in March, taking advantage of the slump in global markets. The PIF then sold most of them off a few months later as the markets rebounded.

BLOOMBERG